Tuesday, May 29, 2012

From the desk of Michael Martin Meléndrez - Managing Member of Soil Secrets LLC:

Much attention and concern has been recently paid to the increasing problem ofsalinity in soils, particularly soils found in arid and semiarid lands that are beingirrigated. Where frequent irrigation is necessary, a residue of salts is left behindfrom the evaporation of water, gradually but imminently concentrating the salts untilthe soil can no longer support production. Plant roots generally do not absorb all thesalts, so the proportion in the soil of salts gradually increases to a point of toxicity.The problem can be made worse by the use of animal manure based soilamendments in the form of raw manure or compost and from acid based fertilizers.The retention of salt in the root zone can cause negative ‘Fluid Dynamics ofPlants’ inhibiting the movement of water and nutrition into the plant. Water watereverywhere but not a drop to drink! Soil compaction and the dispersion of soilparticles can further compound the problem. The constant increase in irrigated farmsoil salinity is a threat and a limiting factor, as soil salinity results in low crop yieldsand a dramatic increase in water use! So how do we fix the problem of soils? Anemphasis on breeding plants that can tolerate salt has been a major focus of ourAgriculture Universities, however the real key to success must be theimplementation of better biological soil management and using inputs that helpcrops tolerate the salinity while also contributing to stopping and reducing thesalinity of soils. The goal while practicing the ‘biological management of soil’must be improved soil health! Two tools in the tool box that meet that benchmarkinclude using mycorrhizal inoculation and fortifying the soil with Humic Acids that areSupramolecular. See a chart on the last page, showing a salt reduction test usingHumic Acids. The test was sponsored by the North Texas Oil and Gas Associationin 1995. This trial used raw Humate, a geological ore called Oxidized Lignite that’snot Supramolecular. The results were surprising because Humic Acids from such asource are very polymorphic and are most likely not Supramolecular. In fact,university and commercial soil labs are not capable of performing a true Humic acidpurification from Lignite or from soil, required to perform a true chemical molecularanalysis of Humic Acids or their molecular characterization and functionality.Therefore we have no idea what quality of material was actually used by the NorthTexas study in 1995, however when Soil Secrets tried to replicate the test using thehighest % Humic Acid Oxidized Lignite available, the test failed to achieve the sameresults. However when we used Humic Acids that were formulated by Soil Secretsto be Supramolecular (tested and measured by the Technology Transfer Program ofLos Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories), we gotexcellent results, matching and sometimes exceeding the 1995 North Texas Oil andGas Association tests.

Some research has also looked at the possibility that inoculating a crop with theGlomus species of Mycorrhizal fungus can also help a crop tolerate Salinity. Seethe attached Abstract on the subject.

My conclusion is that implementing an input program with both Mycorrhizalinoculation onto the seed of crops, while also adding at least 2000 pounds of activeingredient of Supramolecular Humic Acids into the top 6 inches of soil can have apositive influence in the Sodium Absorption Ratio (the SAR) and the PPM of Sodiumin problematic Sodic and Saline soils.

See below a published study on a type of Mycorrhizal Fungi called Endo or VAM,supporting the hypothesis that plants can be helped by a Mycorrhizal relationship whengrown in Saline Soils________________________________________________________________________Improved Growth of Tomato in Salinized Soil by Vesicular-Arbuscular MycorrhizalFungi Collected from Saline SoilsE. C. Pond, J. A. Menge, W. M. JarrellMycologia, Vol. 76, No. 1 (Jan. - Feb., 1984), pp. 74-84doi:10.2307/3792838AbstractVesicular-arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizal fungi were collected and identified from salinelocations throughout southern and central California and Nevada. From this collection, 38soil samples containing VA mycorrhizal fungi from 22 plant species were used to inoculatetomato seedlings and evaluate their growth under artificial salinization. Six samplessignificantly improved growth of tomato in salinized soil when compared to a salinized, nonmycorrhizalcontrol. Growth with 14 samples in salinized soil was as good as growth of anon-mycorrhizal control in non-salinized soil. Negative correlations were found betweenthe amount of mycorrhizal colonization on tomato roots in the greenhouse and electricalconductivity, Na concentration, and osmotic potential of the saline soil samples from thefield. The amount of mycorrhizal colonization on host plants in the field from which the soilsamples were collected was not correlated to growth response or mycorrhizal colonizationof tomato in the greenhouse.